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Camden County previews new consolidated Department of Public Health facility funded partly by state and SPLOST dollars
Summary
A Camden County representative and Robbie Horton, city manager for St. Marys, led a tour of a new 12,500-square-foot Department of Public Health facility near the county hospital, saying the $6 million-plus project centralizes clinical and environmental health services.
A Camden County representative and Robbie Horton, city manager for St. Marys, led a tour of the county's new Department of Public Health facility on Winding Road, saying the 12,500-square-foot building centralizes clinical and environmental health services previously spread across three sites.
The county representative said the project cost is “right over $6,000,000 in total,” and that about $3,000,000 of that amount came from the state. The official described the building as bringing “public health as a whole in 1 location,” consolidating clinical services now in Woodbine and St. Marys with the environmental health functions previously located at an annex off Gross Road and Highway 40.
County officials said the site sits on property donated by Southeast Georgia Health System and is adjacent to the hospital on Winding Road. The tour highlighted separate wings for environmental health and clinical services, a lab, an internal pharmacy for nursing staff, a large file-storage area, multiple exam rooms, WIC (Women, Infants and Children) offices, a fitness room and meeting/kitchen space for regional meetings.
The tour described the environmental health wing as the intake point for businesses requiring permitting or inspections (for example, restaurants and septic permitting) and noted that the lab connects to a nearby testing area so nurses can retrieve and process samples without leaving the clinical area. The representative also emphasized extensive physical storage: the tour pointed out “12 of these massive file storage” cabinets, each described as roughly 8 to 9 feet tall.
Officials said the building is ADA-compliant, includes keyed entry for the internal pharmacy and has workstations and offices for nurse managers and staff. The county representative said the facility’s footprint and storage capacity are larger than the current space and will accommodate future needs.
Speakers noted final construction and finishing touches remain, including paving, plumbing and interior installs such as furniture and computers. The county representative said the county expects to hold a ribbon-cutting for the facility in April (date not specified) and reiterated that the project was financed in part by SPLOST proceeds; speakers framed SPLOST 9 as a continuation of the existing SPLOST levy rather than a new tax rate.
No formal vote or board action was recorded during the tour. Officials urged residents to vote on the SPLOST continuation when it appears on the ballot.
The tour combined descriptive remarks about building features with operational notes on where residents and businesses will go for services once the facility opens. Officials described the project as a benefit of past SPLOST collections and state contributions, and said the new site will centralize many county public-health services under one roof.
